While preparing for Thanksgiving, cleaning and cooking, I watched a few shows that made my stomach turn. Someone had decided to kill off some major players, and I had no idea it was coming.

 

Detective Joss Carter- "Person of Interest"

 

 

So finally we get to see Joss and John start to couple up, only to have her shot to death and die in his arms. What? From Hollywood:

 

 

Person of Interest is moving into new territory, with the whole "Endgame" arc having reached its conclusion. The death of Taraji P. Henson's Joss Carter leaves a big void (the image of Jim Caviezel's John Reese cradling her as she passed away after being shot by corrupt cop Patrick Simmons still endures). That means that creator Jonathan Nolan and other showrunners are taking a big risk that fans may leave the show because of her departure. Granted, it would have been a lot worse if Reese or Michael Emerson's Harold Finch happened to die, but this is close. On one hand, Henson had pretty much made it known that she wasn't going to be on the show forever and that there would be an exit strategy.

 ...

The people who stop viewing this show in protest might have had some valid points, especially the way that the shocking death was almost telegraphed with Reese and Carter kissing for the very first and last time in the same episode. It's true that losing someone who brought extra toughness and yet carried herself with extra grace like Carter did is a bad blow, but then again, things happen in real life that aren't fair either.

 

 

Um, yeah, but I'm not watching the show for realism. Come on. Reese is like Batman in a black suit. It's fantasy and I'm there for it. Over at TV Guide, Ask Matt tackled Carter's death with more... depth:

 

Question: Why kill off Person of Interest's one African-American cast member, Taraji P. Henson, who is a very good actress, unless she wanted out of the series? There is too little diversity on the air now. The "Root" character has been written as mentally unstable and evil. The most grounded character on the show was the woman they killed off even after they wrote her revenge against HR killing her friend. She had informed the FBI to prevent a slaughter, again demonstrating her humanity. The sudden love interest with John seems to be the "doom" moment so John can have an episode or more about his "loss and his revenge." In my opinion, it seems illogical and poor decision-making to kill the African-American Detective Carter. — Darlene

Matt Roush: I'll admit that one of my initial reactions, after the shock of Carter's death sunk in — kudos to the show for keeping that twist from being spoiled in advance, by the way — was how bold and risky a move it was to eliminate the show's most prominent minority character. And from what I see in my mail, you're not alone in calling this out. In terms of ethnicities, Sarah Shahi (Shaw) is of Iranian and Spanish descent, and has brought exotic and ferocious new flavors to the show's copious mayhem, but Henson's violent exit does leave a void and imbalance that deserves to be addressed in a show set and filmed in the melting pot of New York City. That said, while I do believe diversity of all sorts (gender, race, age, sexuality) is important on TV, I'm just as concerned with any plot twist's dramatic impact, and killing Carter just as she achieved her heroic goal certainly achieved that, even at the risk of upsetting fans. When she appeared on Letterman's show the night after her final episode, Henson revealed that she knew from the start that Carter's arc on the show would be of limited duration — she just didn't know when her time would come — so for now I'll accept that this was done for creative reasons and to reinforce just how high the stakes are in this deadly game. I agree, though, that the Moment of Tenderness between Carter and Reese on their Warriors-like final adventure was a major "uh-oh" red flag. Let's see where they take it from here. No question Carter's death will resonate in the short (and hopefully long) run, and many actors would kill for that sort of significant death.

 

True, her death was significant. I mean if you've got to go, mines well go out with a bang.

 

Brian- "Family Guy"

 

 

Over on "Family Guy", family dog and vital character Brian died within days of Carter, and it was far more of a bust. In fact, I watched the show and then did a rewind to try and figure out what I had just watched. It just seemed so out of nowhere. And extremely ugly. Also from Ask Matt:

 

 

Question: Where do you stand on the decision of Family Guy's writers to kill off Brian Griffin? When the Nov. 24 episode ended without him coming back to life, it hit me and many, many other viewers like a ton of bricks. I'd like to believe this isn't permanent, like the eventual retirement of Mrs. Krabappel on The Simpsons due to Marcia Wallace's untimely death, but Seth MacFarlane, Brian's voice, is still with us and the artists can still draw Brian, to be sure. On one hand, this seems like a masterstroke, getting the audience emotionally involved with drawings, but on the other hand, no more Brian-Stewie time travels or "Road" episodes? It's unthinkable! I truly hope that since this is a cartoon, the producers and writers will take advantage of animated unreality and do something to bring Brian back, perhaps with Stewie's help. — David

 

 

Matt Roush: I was as shocked as anyone by Brian's violent and sudden death, but nearly as shocked by how shocked the show's fans were — given Family Guy's penchant for shock humor, which is often as cruel as it is funny. Brian's death is no laughing matter, which may be what makes it so startling and unnerving in the context of a proudly irreverent show that delights in slaughtering sacred cows and offending politically correct sensibilities. If it weren't such an upsetting occasion, I'd almost be amused by this level of "how dare they" outrage, which is only natural when any beloved TV character is offed. But factor in the fact that it's a cartoon pet, one with a distinct comic sensibility that has been ingrained into this show's DNA from the start, and it's almost as if Hanna-Barbera had arranged for The Flintstones' Dino to be mauled and killed by a T-Rex. (At this point, maybe we should be thankful that MacFarlane's planned reboot of The Flintstones never came to pass after all.) My own take is that the writers have every right to make this kind of decision, and I'd normally applaud the boldness of this move — and the genuine emotion the Griffins showed in laying Brian to rest was unexpectedly affecting — but I admit I'm dismayed at how trite the character of Brian's replacement is (at least at first look and listen). I wouldn't put it past Family Guy to miraculously resurrect Brian some day, if only because of the richness of the character if not to appease the bruised feelings of fans, but for now it looks as if we're meant to accept this as a done deal. RIP.

 

[NOTE: Most of the mail I saw on the subject was like this reaction from Jayson, who writes: "Why would you kill off one of the most loved characters in the series, plus he and Stewie are great for one another. Seth MacFarlane said he did it to 'shake things up.' Well, this is what I would say back to Mr. MacFarlane: You better un-shake things and put Brian back with the Griffins or I am done watching forever."]

 

 

More from Rolling Stone:

 

Though executive producer Steve Callaghan explained Brian's death as a "fun way to shake things up" on the show, some suspect the reasons for Brian's death might also have something to do with the ratings for Fox's long-running cartoon series: September's season 12 premiere was down 21 percent from last year, and a bloody publicity stunt like this might just help the series get a boost in viewers – and rake in some extra merchandise sales in time for the holidays.

Indeed, signs suggest that Brian will come back sooner or later. Vinny, a cool-headed pooch voiced by Sopranos actor Tony Sirico, has taken Brian's place as the dog of the Griffin household, but Deadline points out that Sirico is only booked to appear in six episodes. Gawker also notes that Brian's name appears in the title of two future episodes on the Family Guy Wiki – "Brian's a Bad Father" and "Brian the Closer" – and that Callaghan recently spoke with Entertainment Weekly about an upcoming episode featuring Brian.